CALOSOMA SYCOPHANTA: 



ITS LIFE HISTORY. BEHAVIOR. AND SUCCESSFUL COLONIZATION IN 



NEW ENGLAND. 



INTRODUCTION. 



It has lono; been known that certahi predaceous beetles common in 

 Europe belongino; to the family Carabidse, particulaiTy Calosoma 

 sycoplianta L. and Calosoma iiKjuisitor L., are enemies of the ^psy 

 moth and the browTi-tail moth, as well as other lepidopterous larvae, 

 and as soon as the work of importm<2; the natural enemies of the first- 

 mentioned insects mto Massachusetts 

 was begun an effort was made to se- 

 cure these s})ecies for liberation. 



Calosoma sycoplianta (PL I) is a 

 beautiful orreen beetle about 1 mcli in 

 length. It is provided with long 

 legs and is able to run and climb 

 very rapidly. The tarsal jomts of 

 the front legs of the female are di- 

 lated and spongy beneath, while 

 those of the male are similar to those 

 on the other legs. (See fig. 1.) 



In the sprmg of 1905 an arrange- 

 ment was made between the State of 

 Massachusetts and the United States 

 Department of Agriculture whereby 

 the mtroduction of the natural ene- 

 mies of these moths was to be carried 

 on cooperatively, and Dr. L. O. How- 

 ard, Chief of the Bureau of Ento- 

 mology, was given general supervision 

 of the work. In order to organize a corps of collectors, so that 

 large quantities of material could be secured and promptly shi])ped 

 to this country, he sailed for Europe early in the si)rmg of that 

 year and engaged competent entomologists in several countries to 

 take charge of that branch of the service. 



7 



Fig. 1.— Front leg of female and of male of Ca- 

 losoma sijcophanta, showing differences in 

 structure of front tarsjil joints: a, Female; 

 b.male; c, underside of male tarsus. (Orig- 

 inal.) 



